Exporters, lenders, and researchers are working together to improve options for trade financing through the Department of Commerce’s Trade Finance Advisory Council (TFAC).

In an increasingly interconnected global economy, trade is taking a prominent role in our country’s economic growth.

The availability of finance is essential for a vigorous trading system. Most export transactions are supported by some form of financing or credit insurance. However, significant gaps in the global provision of trade finance remain.

The TFAC advises the Secretary of Commerce on effective ways to increase access to financing resources for all U.S. exporters, especially SMEs. With up to 20 private-sector members representing financial and insurance services providers, manufacturing firms, trade finance industry associations, and research organizations, the TFAC’s thought-leadership coordinates perspectives from diverse stakeholders into the development of policies and programs in this area.

These insights help direct Commerce’s actions toward conducive framework conditions that would amplify U.S. exporters access to strategic educational and financing resources.

Over the last fifteen months, the TFAC has focused on:

export finance best practices;

enabling new private sector channels for the flow of credit to exporting SMEs;

education strategies to reduce the information gap across government, community banks, and other enablers of SME finance;

addressing financing process obstacles that impede SME credit;

analyzing trade credit insurance underutilization in the United States; and

At the February TFAC meeting, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recognized the Council for its critical role in advancing the Administration’s goal of reducing U.S. trade deficits by empowering more SMEs with financing solutions that would increase their export opportunities.

“While we seek to level the playing field and negotiate more favorable terms with our trading partners, we count on you to continue empowering SMEs in the international arena. Without adequate access to finance, it is difficult for U.S. exporters to sell their products and services globally.”

He also encouraged Council members to identify how emerging technologies, such as blockchain, could facilitate trade finance solutions and reduce risk for U.S. SME exporters.

The TFAC also welcomed Secretary Wilbur Ross’ new appointed members this year:

Steven Bash, Senior Vice President, International Banking, City National Bank

Meeting of the TFA at the Commerce Department, February 22, 2018. From left to right: Todd McCracken – National Small Business Association, Sergio Rodriguera – The Credit Junction, Karsten Herrmann – Munich Reinsurance America, Tim Gaul – Caterpillar, and new members Russell D’Souza and Steven Bash.

These new appointees expand the Council’s expertise in their representation of both users and providers of trade finance in the manufacturing, banking, and management consulting services sectors.

The TFAC expects to discuss improving the credit conditions and diversifying financing sources for U.S. exporters at their Spring meeting.

If you would like to learn more about the TFAC, you can visit our website or you can contact us at TFC@trade.gov.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the TFAC, stay tuned! The Council may be looking for applicants this summer. You can learn more here.

Helping U.S. businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enter and compete in global markets is a core mission of the International Trade Administration (ITA), the federal government’s lead export promotion agency.

Participants of the NASBITE CGBP Preparation Training Workshop on August 8-10, 2017 at the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.

The CGBP credential program, which helps advance U.S. exports and international trade, is administered by NASBITE International (NASBITE), a non-profit and ITA strategic partner. Launched in 2005, the NASBITE CGBP provides a benchmark for competency in global commerce by certifying an individual’s ability to conduct international business at the professional level across four main categories:

Since 2005, ITA has used the CGBP credential program to enhance the ability of its employees to assist American SME exporters in accessing global markets. The CGBP credential enables ITA team members to diversify their skills and stay abreast of the ever-changing aspects of international trade. To date, almost 2,000 professionals worldwide, including several hundred ITA trade specialists and commercial officers, have been awarded the CGBP credential.

The three-day workshop was facilitated by NASBITE Past President, Jim Foley, who is currently serving as the Director of the Illinois SBDC International Trade Center at Bradley University and as the National Co-Chair of the International Trade Committee of America’s SBDC, which represents a nationwide network of approximately 1,000 SBDCs. ITA co-facilitated the workshop’s trade finance session and helped participants learn about the methods of payment and export finance options described in the U.S. Commerce Department’s Trade Finance Guide.

With the new knowledge gained from the three-day workshop at the University of Missouri, participants, who are ready to take the next step in obtaining the CGBP credential, are now more equipped to enter, grow, and succeed in global markets!

Ericka Ukrow is a Senior International Trade Specialist in the Office of Finance and Insurance Industries

The Department of Commerce has responded to the needs of its clients and partners – it is stepping up efforts to expand private sector trade finance with the inaugural meeting of the Trade Finance Advisory Council (TFAC).

The Council is comprised of 20 private-sector leaders representing banks, financial technology companies, other trade finance organizations, exporters, and a research institution charged with advising the U.S. Commerce Secretary on policies and programs that can help expand access to private sector trade finance for U.S. exporters, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and educate them about the resources available.

TFAC members sharing their perspective on key priorities for the TFAC with Commerce officials.

In her remarks last month to the Council, Secretary Penny Pritzker underscored the importance that trade finance plays in supporting trade. “Nearly all global merchandise trade, worth in excess of $18 trillion annually, is supported by some sort of finance or credit insurance. Put simply: without trade finance, there is no trade,” she said.

Acknowledging that the federal government is a critical source of American exporters’ financing needs, Secretary Pritzker reminded all participants that ultimately, it is the private sector that finances approximately 98 percent of U.S. export transactions. Accordingly, she affirmed the Department’s commitment to working collaboratively with the private sector in supporting efforts that will enhance the financing environment of our exporters and their foreign buyers.

Deputy Secretary Andrews shared Commerce’s priorities and vision for the TFAC. “Without adequate levels of trade finance,” he said, “companies considering whether to expand overseas might never do so; and companies already engaged in exporting may not expand to new markets. This limits the potential for a key element of our country’s economic growth strategy – ultimately costing us jobs that otherwise would have been created. That is why access to finance has been an important part of the Administration’s export agenda.We need industry to help us find solutions to the systemic barriers that impact this sector,” he added.

Council’s Key Priorities

Under direction of the Advisory Council Chair Chris Bozek, a seasoned banker and now Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s North America Head of Trade and Global Product Executive, Council members deliberated and established four initial areas of focus:

In his closing remarks, Acting Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis, Ted Dean, assured members that “in collaboration with the broader U.S. government, Commerce stands ready to work with Council members to ensure they have the support they need to provide important insights on opportunities to enhance the trade finance environment for our exporters.”

It was an inspiring environment, underscoring that achieving an enhanced financing environment for American exporters is not a task that government can do alone. It must be built on a commitment of collaborative work between the government, private sector and academia. This meeting marked a key step to embracing this path.

The Council is scheduled to hold its second meeting in early spring of 2017.

Expanding access to export financing is one of the five priority objectives under NEI/NEXT, the next phase of the President’s National Export Initiative, a customer-focused initiative to ensure that more American businesses can fully capitalize on markets around the world.

Despite recent improvements in the economy, many U.S. businesses, especially SMEs and minority-owned firms, still face significant challenges in financing their export transactions. The Arlington seminar helped local SMEs learn ways to overcome such challenges by following NEI/NEXT’s three key trade finance strategies:

Engage and educate more commercial lenders and private-sector partners on U.S. government export financing and insurance programs.

Educate more U.S. businesses on how to utilize the government and commercial trade finance resources that can help turn their export opportunities into actual transactions.

Streamline services provided by U.S. government export financing and promotion agencies.

In addition to these finance strategies, participants also explored:

getting paid from export sales;

getting paid in foreign currencies;

taking advantage of export assistance resources and U.S. Government export financing programs;

identifying U.S. export opportunities in Latin America; and,

finding global business development resources for U.S. Hispanic and Other Minority-Owned Businesses.

With the new knowledge gained from Global Connect Arlington, participants are now more equipped to enter, grow and succeed in global markets!

Fred Elliot is a Trade Specialist with the Aerospace Team at the International Trade Administration.

Have you ever wondered if you should extend credit to your overseas customers in the same way you do your national customers? Or whether your banking relationships are solid enough to allow this type of credit?

Now’s the time to start getting some answers. Register now for the July24th Trade Finance Webinar for U.S. Aerospace Exporters and gain expert insight about topics such as:

Dos and don’ts of export finance;

Methods of payment from overseas customers;

How the Export-Import Bank and the Small Business Administration (SBA) can help finance aerospace exports, and;

Ways the U.S. Department of Commerce is helping aerospace manufacturers learn about export opportunities and how to take advantage of them.

Companies in southern Ohio are welcome to participate in-person in Cincinnati, where you can meet one-on-one with finance experts from the Export-Import Bank, SBA, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, and PNC Bank, who can answer any questions you may have.

Both webinar and in-person attendees will leave this event better prepared to succeed in global business.

This seminar will be available in person and via teleconference, covering a series of important export finance subjects:

How to get paid from export sales;

Ways to approach and work with banks to enter and grow in global markets;

Steps to access export working capital and trade credit;

How to increase export sales;

Methods of receiving payment in foreign currencies;

U.S. government export assistance resources; and

Global business development resources for minority-owned businesses.

Global Connect: Arizona will bring together experts from both the public and private sectors to discuss resources available to U.S. exporters. This applies to businesses of any size for their financing needs.

One-on-one counseling sessions are also available to provide export finance guidance specific to the needs of your organization.

Support for Hispanic-Owned Businesses

This training is open to businesses Across the United States, there are 2.3 million Hispanic-owned businesses, according to the latest data, and more than 10 percent of Arizona businesses are Hispanic-owned.

Data also show that minority-owned businesses are twice as likely to export as other U.S. firms. As Hispanic-owned businesses in Arizona and across the country look outside U.S. borders for more sales, it will be important for them to understand their finance options.

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The question is…what is an escrow service and how is it used in international trade transactions?

The International Trade Administration’s Trade Finance Guide (TFG) says an escrow service is a cash-in-advance option available to exporters and importers that reduces the potential risk of fraud. It acts as a trusted third party that collects, holds and disburses funds according to exporter and importer instructions.

Here’s how it works: the importer sends the agreed purchase amount to the escrow service. After payment is verified, the exporter is instructed to ship the goods. Upon delivery, the importer has a pre-determined amount of time to inspect and accept the goods. Once accepted, the funds are released by the escrow service to the exporter. The escrow fee can either be paid in full by one party or split evenly between the exporter and the importer.

The TFG also points out that, as an exporter, any sale is a gift until payment is received. And, because getting paid in full and on time is the ultimate goal for the seller in each sale, an appropriate payment method must be chosen carefully to minimize the payment risk while also accommodating the needs of the buyer.

But, as illustrated in the TFG, different payment types present different risks to exporters than to importers. And for a variety of reasons, not all of the identified methods of payment are available, or desirable, to either exporters or importers. Here’s how the risk levels are illustrated in the TFG:

The Trade Finance Guide shows how some payment methods are more secure than others, depending on whether you are an importer or an exporter.

For the first time, however, the new 2012 edition of the TFG includes escrow services for “transactions with importers who demand assurance that the goods will be sent in exchange for advance payment” and states that “escrow in international trade is a service that allows both exporter and importer to protect a transaction by placing the funds in the hands of a trusted third party until a specified set of conditions are met.”

In other words, escrow services can offer a mutually beneficial cash-in-advance method for both parties. Plus, offering escrow services as a method of payment can actually add potential importers to U.S. exporters. In many cases, deals just don’t happen due to a payment related “issue” – and one example might be that you, as the exporter, require payment in full and up-front but the importer is reluctant to send the money until they receive the goods. In this case, by offering escrow services, both parties can be satisfied, the payment issue is resolved, and the deal closes. Cross-border escrow services are offered by international banks and firms that specialize in escrow and other deposit and custody services.

Like with any new business opportunity, if you are considering the use of escrow services, do your due diligence and make sure the one you choose is licensed and accredited. You can also verify the service you choose to do business with via:

(Editor’s Note: This post focuses on one of several possible methods for receiving payments for exports. It is not intended to be an endorsement of escrow services or any organization that provides escrow services. More information is available in the Trade Finance Guide.)